Tilting iron



H. MACHANIC TILTING IRON May 15, 1951 Filed June 26. 1950 Hermon Mechanic INVENTOR.

BY I W and Patented May 15, 1951 2 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TILTING IRON Hermon Machanic, Burlington, Vt.

Application June 26, 1950, Serial No. 170,450

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a flat iron the primary object of which is to permit the iron to tilt when raised slightly so that it can be left on the garment without scorching the material that is being pressed.

Applicant is aware of a fiat iron presently on the market which requires the pressing of a button for the actuation of the spring to lift the iron on the garment, however, the present flat iron is an improvement over this iron in that no buttons, springs or other mechanical devices are employed for tilting the iron. The tilting of the present flat iron is accomplished by a simple shifting of the center of gravity in the iron toward the back thereof so that the iron will remain supported on the back which is appropriately insulated from the soleplate of the iron.

A further important object of this invention. is to provide a flat iron of the character described which is relatively simple of design and construction, inexpensive, extremely easy to operate, and very useful for its intended purpose.

These, together with various ancillary objects and features of the invention which will later become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by the device, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated by way of example only in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through the present flat iron, some parts being broken away and shown in elevation; and,

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the iron in its tilted position.

Specific reference is now made to the drawings. In the several views in the accompanying drawings and in the following specification like reference characters indicate corresponding elements throughout.

The present iron is generally indicated at l and includes a handle I2, preferably U-shaped, which is secured by means of the recessed screw I l to the top plate I6 of a base member l8, the latter including a soleplate 20' having a lower pressing surface 22. The handle I2 is further secured upon the base member 18 by means of an elongated recessed screw or bolt 24 which extends into the base member and engages the soleplate 20 as at 26. As will be readily understood, the soleplate 20 includes an elongated recess for receiving the conventional heating coil 28.

The base member [8 further includes a heel portion 30 which includes a lower surface 32 which is upwardly and rearwardly inclined relative to the lower pressing surface 22 of the soleplate 20. The heel portion 3|] is appropriately secured at one of its ends to the top plate 16 of the base member and at its other end is separated irom the soleplate by means of a suitable heat-insulating gasket 34 which has a laterally extending portion 36 that is partially received within the recess in the soleplate carrying the heating coil 28. Any of the conventional heat insulating gaskets such as rubber, asbestos, etc., may be employed, the gasket being secured both to the heel portion and the soleplate 20 by means of suitable adhesives.

As will be seen clearly in the drawings, the soleplate 2B is separated from the top plate I5 of the base member [8 to provide a compartment 38 which has a portion 48 that extends into the heel portion 30. Received in the compartment 38 is a plurality of weighted rollers 42 which may be lead, steel, or other metallic balls or even mercury.

To press the top surface of a garment M, the

lower pressing surface 22 of the soleplate 26 is made to engage the garment as shown in Figure 1. When it is desired to keep the fiatiron on the garment but with the pressing surface 22 elevated therefrom, the iron is tilted rearwardly until the lower surface 32 of the heel portion 30 is made to engage the garment M as shown clearly in Figure 2 at which time the weighted rollers 42 will roll to the rear of the fiat iron and be received within the extended portion 40 of the compartment 38, as shown clearly in Figure 2, in which position the center of gravity of the flat iron is shifted rearwardly so that the iron will be supported at the heel portion without the necessity of holding the iron any longer. And, inasmuch as the heel portion is insulated from the soleplate 20 by means of the insulating gasket 34, the garment 44 will not be scorched or burned in any manner.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claim.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A tilting flat iron consisting of a base member and a handle secured thereto, said base member including a soleplate having a lower pressing surface and a heel portion inclined upwardly and rearwardly from the soleplate, a heat insulating panel between said heel portion and said soleplate, a compartment in said base member above said soleplate and extending into said heel portion, and a balance shifting material in said compartment whereby tilting of said flatiron rearwardly will cause said material to move into the extended portion of the compartment at the heel portion and retain the soleplate in an elevated position.

HERMON MACHANIC.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

